1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus control device for providing a centralized control over a plurality of apparatuses, such as a plurality of AV apparatuses installed in a home.
2 Description of Related Art
There have been existing various sorts of control systems which control apparatuses, home electric apparatuses in particular connected to a control bus by sending them a control signal (hereunder called as a home-bus-system). In the home-bus-system, a control signal is generated according to a control procedure which is preset beforehand or directly inputted by an input unit, from data (address) which identifies the apparatus to be controlled, and data (command) which indicates how the identified apparatus should be controlled. Then, the generated control signal is sent on the control bus.
In a commonly used home-bus-system, the button which designates a control operation is provided on the operation panel, such as "TV ON" or "replay CD (compact disc) player". When the user presses such button, the corresponding control signal is sent on the control bus. Therefore, when the user wants to listen to a certain song on the CD player, he/she presses the button for "CD player ON" on the operation panel, then presses the button for "replay CD player", or the like.
The conventional home-bus-system has a drawback in that the user cannot watch a movie or listen to a song unless he/she identifies the apparatus, and is aware of its operation. Therefore, the home-bus-system has been inconvenient for a user who wants to watch a movie, listen to a song, and so on, but is not skilled in technological arts. Moreover, recently home electric apparatuses have become more and more sophisticated, and become affluent in kind. Therefore, it is very difficult for untrained users in home environments to operate them correctly, and they have been increasingly desirous of obtaining an electric control system for enabling an easy to use control over such electric apparatuses.